Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said that 500 million rupee programme of the National Skill Development Corporation of the UPA Government will go a long way in enhancing skills of young people helping them seek more gainful employment. Inaugurating Kerala Development Congress organised by Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies at Thiruvananthapuram, Dr Singh urged the state to make use of the flag ship programmes of the Centre to give further fillip to development. He said that Kerala having highly educated and talented people can become a better investment destination if infrastructure facilities and power generation is further improved. Highlighting the development potential of central schemes Dr. Singh said that under the agricultural assistance scheme, rupees 1800 crore has been given for Kuttanad package of Kerala. He also said that under JNNURM an amount of 475 crore central assistance was made available for development of Thiruvanathapuram and Kochi cities. The Prime Minister advised the state to shift from the present focus on cash crops to food crops.Earlier, in the afternoon, Dr. Singh presented the coveted Jnanpith award to eminent Malayalam poet O N V Kurup in a glittering function attended by Kerala Governor R S Gavai, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan, Union Minsters A K Antony, Vayalar Ravi and a host of other dignitaries.